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Subban ignites Team Canada with dynamic rush

As one among an array of talented teens, P.K. Subban knows he doesn't have to perform with eye-catching flair, doesn't have to deliver a spin-a-rama or two per game and doesn't have to be the riverboat gambler on defence some accuse him of being.

All the same, surely it was good for Team Canada's juniors last night that Subban has the ability to do all of those things.

In a surprisingly tight game against lowly Germany, Subban swept up ice in the third period from behind his own net all the way to the German crease, failing to score but leaving a loose puck that teammate Evander Kane nudged home, allowing Canada to exhale.

"That gave us a bit of a cushion," said Subban, a Rexdale native, after receiving the game puck from his teammates. "I think it loosened us up a bit."

Ultimately, the unbeaten and untied Canadians emerged with a 5-1 triumph in a game that really was a no-win scenario for them. Either they could humiliate Germany, as they had done to Kazakhstan by a 15-goal margin the day before, and face another night of explaining why such a display wasn't just plain bad for hockey, or they could get themselves into a tight game and have to defend their lack of dominance afterward.

As it turned out, it was the latter, with the Germans playing a physical and at times nasty game, challenging the Canadians after virtually every whistle in a chippy affair that threatened to get ugly after Angelo Esposito was violently boarded from behind in the third period.

The Germans took more penalties, but the Canadians didn't exactly stay away from dumb fouls and pointless confrontations.

Forward Stefan Della Rovere took three unnecessary minors and seemed to spend all night trash-talking his opponents, as did German forward David Wolf.

"There was a lot of chirping, and I didn't like that," said Subban, a Montreal Canadiens' draft pick. "At one point, I thought we had to speak up when Angelo was hit from behind. You don't want to see the game get out of control to that point.

"For us, in the future, I just hope we don't do as much chirping. We need to do our talking on the ice. There's a time to talk and a time not to. All we need to do is concentrate on winning the game, and you can't win the game talking."

Canada led 2-1 early in the third when Subban, normally a 30-40 minute man with the Belleville Bulls with a reputation for dramatic rushes, saw the Germans in the midst of a line change. Until that point, 17-year-old German goalie Philipp Grubauer, a teammate of Subban's in Belleville, had played brilliantly.

"The more I skated with it, the more ice opened up," said Subban. "There was an opportunity to take it to the net, and I took it to the net. I know my own goaltender and I knew if I took it to the net he might not know what was coming at him.

"I thought maybe I collided with him a little bit, which knocked him out of position, and that's why Evander got the goal. I didn't intentionally do it. There was nothing (Grubauer) could do about that."

Subban now faces another Bulls teammate, power forward Eric Tangradi, when the Canadians face their first stern test of the tournament against the U.S. in a New Year's Eve showdown tomorrow night.

"That game has been spoken about a lot since the tournament started," said Subban.

"I guess the wait's over."

It will be interesting to see how the Canadians choose to take on the Americans.

In years past, the first 10 minutes of Canada-U.S. games at the world juniors often have been violent confrontations filled with heavy hitting, but this Canadian team just isn't built that way, or doesn't seem to be.

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